NBA Player News

The Thunder picked up Dort's $17.7 million team option Monday, Shams Charania of ESPN reports.

The Thunder are already heavily into the tax, but the franchise has every intention of getting back to the NBA Finals, and this was a priority for the team. Dort averaged 8.3 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.9 steals while shooting a career-low 38.5 percent from the field in 26.8 minutes per game across 69 regular-season appearances in 2025-26, but his defense is invaluable.

The Celtics are declining the 2026-27 team option on Williams' contract Monday, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Williams was more of a factor for the G League's Maine Celtics last season, though Himmelsbach notes that the big man could still land another opportunity with Boston. The 2025 second-rounder could participate in the Summer League with the Celtics before searching for a new NBA deal.

The Clippers declined Bogdanovic's team option for 2026-27 on Monday, Jake Fischer of BleacherReport.com reports.

Bogdanovic has battled injuries the past two seasons, and even when he was available last year, he was hardly part of the Clippers' regular rotation. Regardless, he should still draw attention on the open market as a sharpshooting wing. Bogdanovic's 34.7-percent mark from deep last year was a career low, as he'd never dropped below 36 percent in any of his previous eight seasons.

The Celtics are exercising the 2026-27 team option on Banton's contract Monday, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Banton is sticking around with Boston, but his path to fantasy relevance is murky. He averaged 10.3 minutes per game over six regular-season appearances for the Celtics and Clippers a year ago.

The Magic exercised their 2026-27 team option for Cain on Monday, Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel reports.

This was a formality after Cain carved out a key role down the stretch of 2025-26, averaging 17.6 minutes during Orlando's playoff run. Look for him to compete for a rotation spot entering 2026-27 with momentum on his side.

The Clippers declined Batum's team option for 2026-27 on Monday, Jake Fischer of BleacherReport.com reports.

Batum and Bogdan Bogdanovic will be unrestricted free agents after the Clippers passed on their team options. Batum's play has steadily declined, seeing fewer than 20 minutes per game in each of the past two seasons for the first time since his rookie campaign. Despite the drop in production, Batum can still draw attention on the open market as a veteran leader who's been on plenty of winning teams.

The Celtics picked up their 2026-27 team option for Walsh on Monday, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe reports.

This is an expected move by the Celtics. Walsh appeared in 68 regular-season games in 2025-26, posting averages of 5.4 points and 4.0 rebounds in 17.8 minutes per contest.

The Clippers are picking up the $9.2 million team option on Lopez's contract for the 2026-27 season, per Chris Haynes of NBA TV.

Lopez was thrust into a starting role following the Ivica Zubac trade last year, and he appears to be the early favorite for the top center gig once again in 2026-27. That said, the Clippers figure to try and upgrade the position this offseason. Lopez averaged 8.5 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.8 minutes per contest over 75 regular-season games in 2025-26.

The Celtics declined to tender a qualifying offer to Shulga, Keith Smith of Spotrac.com reports Monday.

Shulga made 11 regular-season appearances, including one start, for the Celtics in the 2025-26 campaign. The 2025 second-round pick will now enter unrestricted free agency after averaging just 3.3 minutes per game in his rookie season.

The Celtics picked up Queta's team option Monday, Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe reports.

This is an expected move for Boston after Queta put together a solid campaign as their starting center. He produced averages of 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.8 steals in 25.3 minutes per game across 76 outings (75 starts). Depending on what the Celtics do in free agency, Queta could again be in line for a big role in the frontcourt.